Free swinging impeller for waste disposal apparatus



H. JORDAN Nov. 10, 1959 FREE SWINGING IMPELLER FOR WASTE DISPOSALAPPARATUS Filed D90. 26, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet -l ,6? ///s Imam/d gs.fling/s, M504, 1 0.972? 8 113901 7 NOV. 10, 1959 JORDAN 2,912,176

FREE SWINGING IMPELLER FOR WASTE DISPOSAL APPARATUS Filed Dec. 26, 19565 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q 244, .43 a 9 2p 4 l 1 III ml .Z-Ius warm/v,

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H. JORDAN 2,912,176 FREE SWINGING 'IMPELLER FOR WASTE DISPOSAL APPARATUSNov. 10, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 26, 1956 EH in 4, .l'snswMeals.

Unitid S Patent FREE SWINGIN G IMPELLER FOR WASTE DISPOSAL APPARATUSHans Jordan, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Given Machinery Company,Los Angeles, Calif., a partnership Application December 26, 1956, SerialNo. 630,631

2 Claims. (Cl. 241-194) This invention relates to cutting or grindingmeans in waste disposal devices such as household and restaurant garbagegrinder structures.

An object of the invention is to provide simplified cutting or grindingcombinations for such equipment.

A further object is to reduce manufacturing operations, simplify partsand correspondingly reduce costs in waste disposal apparatus of theindicated nature.

In a more particular respect, one object is to provide for free swingingmounting and action of grinding impellers characteristically used onrotary tables of some types of disposal structures, whereby suchgrinding or cutting impellers may swing freely in reverse directionsunder influence of centrifugal forces, as may be encountered undervarying circumstances.

:I have found'surprisingly, that, whereas grinding impellers used onrotary tables of kitchen waste grinders heretofore have been limited intheir movements by stops carried by the tables, very excellent actionmay be accomplished by providing for free swinging movement of theimpellers in all directions, both forward and reverse, while under theinfluence of centrifugal force. In other words, such impellers may bemounted to swing freely in full circular paths of 360 in one directionor the reverse, as circumstances may demand, and waste grinding becomessubstantially as satisfactory and complete as in typical instances wherethe impellers are limited to the maximum centrifugally-established orradial positions, Such impellers have characteristically main shankswhose inner ends are mounted on pivoting means and whose outer ends arein the form of weighted grinding heads having leading edges and trailingedges. The impeller construction may be symmetrical and the center ofmass therefore on a median line or axis and near the outer end. Suchhead preferably is formed on an arc whose radius is that of the swingingimpeller itself, the leading and trailing edges of the head beingpreferably square-cut to form vertical cutting edges co-operating withcutting edges provided in a grind ring surrounding the rotary table. Thecenter of mass may, however, be offset somewhat from such median line byreason of non-symmetrical construction.

Other objects of the invention and various features of constructioninvolved will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon referenceto the following specification and the accompanying drawings whereincertain embodiments are illustrated.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is partly a vertical section and partly an elevation of a wastedisposal structure in which the present improvement is embodied;

Fig. 2 is partly a transverse section and partly an internal plan viewapproximately as indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section approximately as indicated by theright-angled line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

' Fig. 4 is a view similar to that of Fig. 3 showing a 2 somewhatmodified construction and is taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view and horizontal section approximatelyas indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section of another modification of theimpeller as indicated by the line 6-6 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 7 is a plan view taken approximately on the line 77 of Fig. 6;

.Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic plan view on a reduced scale showing adifferent relationship between the pivot axes of the impellers and theaxis of rotation of the rotary table;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of another modification of the impeller;

Fig. 10 is a side elevation of the impeller of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a plan view of a still further modification of the impeller;and

Fig. 12 is aside elevation of the impeller of Fig. 11.

Fig. 1 of the drawings shows an appropriate form of garbage grinderhaving a main housing 15 providing at its lower end a motor housing151:. The grinder structure is supported from a kitchen sink S through atypical depending drainage sleeve 16 receiving a stopper 16a, the sleeve16 supporting the underlying structure through the medium of afree-suspension rubber neck or ring 17 shown as carrying a removablymounted splash guard 17a. The lower end of the ring 17 is suitablyconnected with the outer main housing 15 and with an upper metallic ringmember 18 enclosing a waste-receiving grinding chamber 19.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, any form of impeller 20 of thisinvention is carried upon a fiat top 21 of a rotary table 22 that isdriven through a drive shaft 23 to which the table 22 is secured as by anut and washer combination 24 terminating below or flush with the top ofthe table. The shaft 23 thus also establishes an axis of rotation. Thetable 22, which commonly carries a pair of diametrically opposedimpellers 20, is constructed and arranged to rotate within andco-operate with an upstanding grind ring 25 arranged between thechamber-providing ring 18 and an underlying lower casting 26 which isdisposed around the table 22 and around the top of the motor M (Fig. 3)provided within the lower housing portion 15a.

The grind ring 25 has at its lower edge and in its inner face aplurality of in-cut vertical passages 27 which receive ground wastematerial from the impellers 20 and discharge such ground waste, withaccompanying flushing water, from their open bottoms. The side edges ofthese passages 27 provide hard cutting edges 28 which cooperate withgrinding portions of the impellers 20.

Each impeller 20 includes a cutting head 30 at the outer end of a mainshank 32 whose inner end is pivoted at an appropriate location on thetable 21, 22 by suitable means such as an integral pivot pin 34 (Fig. 4)or a separate pin 34 (Fig. 3). Such pivot pin establishes an impelleraxis 34a and it is mounted in a bearing 35 carried in the table 22 belowits flat top 21. Any suitable means such as indicated at 36 is employedto retain the impeller and its pivot pin 34 in operative position.

In a preferred arrangement of the impellers, the axis of each pivot pin34 is located radially outward from the axis of the table a slightlygreater distance than half the table radius, this arrangement beingindicated by the broken line circles in Fig. 2. Thus the two impellers20 may rotate freely around full circles without interference with eachother. If desired, such impeller radius may be somewhat less thanindicated. Again, in an ar rangement at present considered to be lessdesirable, it wouldbe'possible to employ impeller radii somewhat greaterthan half the table radius, as indicated in Fig. 8,

in operation, and would merely act'as stops for one another should therebe any such operating contact.

With respect to the construction of an impeller such as the impeller 20of Figs. 1 to 3, such impeller is symmetrical in shape in so far asconcerns its construction at the opposite sides of its longitudinal axisor median radial line. Its head 39 is elevated above its main shanl; 32at its outer end so as to increase the mass adjacent such outer end andplace its center of gravity or mass center well out toward its extremityso that such center of gravity is positioned, for example, at about thepoint 38 seen at the left of Fig. 2. Since this construction issymmetrical, and the outer end of the head 30 is formed on a radiuswhose center is the axis 34a of the pivot pin 34, such gravity center 38will lie on the median line of the impeller. In the particularconfiguration of the impeller of Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the head 30 has adownward and outward sloping circular wall 40 terminating at its loweredge in a flat horizontal circular shelf 42 at the top of a verticalcylindrical wall 44 constituting the outermost face of the impeller 26.The verticality and the cylindrical characteristic of the wall 44 aredetermined largely by the positioning of the adjacent, spaced cutterteeth 45 with which the outermost portions of the impeller 20 co-operatein the grinding of the waste being treated.

With this structural arrangement of the impeller, a heavy grinding forceis produced, under centrifugal operation, at the radially outermostgrind point of the operating impeller 20 which is the point on the areopposite a given co-operating tooth 45. Such operating point dependsupon the portion of the arcuate wall 44 positioned,

by action of waste undergoing grinding, on the respective table radiuspassing through both the table axis and the. impeller axis. The leadingand trailing vertical edges of the head 30 are preferably approximatelysquare cut whereby to provide sharp cutting corners 46 that willcooperate with the cutting edges 23 of the grind ring 25 which are atthe sides of the vertical passages 27, and

preferably also constitute the edges of the mentioned.

cutting teeth 45.

With the described construction of the grind head 30, some portionthereof always, lies adjacent the. grind ring 25, even though underoperating variations there may be appreciable movement of the impellerabout its respective axis 34a. Regardless of that portionv of thegrindhead 30 which is nearest to the grind teeth 45, the describedvertical cutting edges 46 produce some distinct cutting action uponaccumulated waste bearing upon the top of the impeller and centrifugallythrown against the cutting elements of the grind ring 25duringtablerotation. This will also be true in a reverse directionshould there be any such push-back of the impeller 20 by temporaryobstruction or resistance against the grind head such as may beoccasioned by accumulated waste, a bone for example. V

The present impeller construction, whether Symmetrh cal or not, has thefurther advantages that, after significant wear has developed uponrespective cutting edges 2 at one side of the passages 27 of the grindring 25, the direction of rotation of the motor M, conventionally usedto operate the rotary table 22, may be reversed, thereby rendering thecutting edges 28 on the opposite sides of the passages 27 and the cutterteeth 45' primarily. effective, and also rendering the correspondingcutting corners 46 of the impellers 20 primarily effective. This.

possibility avoids the necessity for renewing the impellers 2t)- and thegrind ring 25 as long as either set of cutting edges 28 and cuttingcorners 46 is in grinding condition,

As seen in Fig. 5, the impeller 20 may be somewhat modified from itsform of Figs. 1,2 and 3, in that its outer grinding end, while stillpresenting considerable working mass to produce a substantial grindingforce, may have its arcuate portion considerably reduced in length. Thusits grinding head 50 may be shorter than the head 30 of the forms ofFigs. 1, 2 and 3, and its working extremity indicated at 52 may have avery short are much less than the arc of the upstanding head 50. Thiswill, of course, place the center of mass somewhat farther inward ont'neimpeller toward its axis 34a than the corresponding point 38 of Fig. 2on the impeller. While the arc of the head 30 of the form of Figs. 1, 2and 3 may be about 30, the working arc of the portion 52 of Fig. 5 maybe around only 5. Thus, the advancing vertical approximately square-cutcorner 54 corresponding with the leading square-cut corner 46 of theform of Figs. 1, 2 and 3 will be located closer to the cutting corners28 of the cutting teeth .45 at the sides of the incut passages 27 in thegrind ring 25, when the impeller is in median position.

Figs 4 and 5 illustrate a further modification wherein there is mountedon the flat table top 21 an elevating plate 55 which spaces eachimpeller 20 upward from the table top 21 a distance equal to thethickness of the plate 55. With this form, the spacing plate 55 isprovided with a radially extending finger 55a for each impeller 20, suchfinger having an advancing cutter tooth 56 at the periphery of the tabletop- 21, which tooth, in conjunction with the cutting head portion 52also cooperates with the cutting edges 28 and teeth of the grind ring25. With this construction embodying the finger 55a, in each instance,clogging is avoided between the outer portion of the impeller 20 and thetable top 21 by reason of the narrowing of this impeller head as itextends outward to the outer grind portion 52. Also the correspondinglycurved end 57 of the head 50 leading t9 the cutting portion 52 clearsthis area to avoid clogging, especially inconjunction with theillustrated annular series of apertures 58 through which flushing watersupplied to the grind chamber 19 flushes out fine material. The spacerand bearing plate may be retained on the rotary table 22 (which may be acast table) by appropriate rivets 59 or the like in substantially thesame manner as the flat table top 21 of Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is retained.

While the impellers 20 of Figs. 1 to 5 are illustrated as extending onlyto the periphery of the table top 21, and the outer' portions taperdownward and outward, as where indicated at 40 in Fig. 2, such impellermay nevertheless be constructed as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 wherein animpeller 60, mounted as in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, has an upstandingperipheral head portion 61 which is arcuate like the head finger 63 ofreduced vertical extent or height. In operation, this finger 63 liesbetwen and co-operates with superimposed rows of cutter teeth 45appropriately vertically spaced by a groove 64 accommodating'the finger63 between the teeth. Here the same in-cut passages 27 are used, and onthe inwardly facing wall of the annular groove 64 between the rows ofteeth 45, shallow teeth 65 may be provided continuously or in series forco-operation with thecutti'ng finger 6 3.

The cutter: finger 63, as shown, provides upper and lower faces 66 whichare uniformly positioned with respect to the opposing lower and upperfaces of the teeth 45 to effect good cutting or grinding. Thus, each endof the finger 63 provides upper and lower cutting edges 67 which advancetoward respective opposing co-operating cutting edges 68 at the oppositesides of the underlying and overlying teeth 45, depending upon thedirection of rotation of the table 22 Thus, additional cutting means areprovided between the teeth 45 andthe finger 63 for tearing apart orcutting stringy materials which may be included in the wastebeingprocessed. I

dinal axes or median radial lines, such construction is not alwaysessential, and each impeller might be like the nonsymmetrical impeller70 of Figs. 9 and 10. In this instance the weighting impeller head 72which upstands from the main shank of the impeller lies wholly to oneside of the median line 73 of the shank. This structure is primarilydirectional in that normally the table on which it is mounted would berotated counterclockwise or in the direction of the curved arrow of Fig.9, so that the vertical cutting corner indicated at 74 leads.

Again, as in Figs. 11 and 12, an impeller 30 might be employed whereinthe upstanding impeller head 82 is nonsymmetrical, so that, although itextends from side to side of the impeller, it presents a greater mass onone side of its median line 83 than at its other side. Also, in theforms of these Figs. 9 to 12, the outer face of the impeller head mayextend vertically as at 75 in Figs. 9 and 10 or be sloped outward anddownward as at 84 in Figs. 11 and 12. With these constructions thecenter of gravity lies ofi to one side of the respective median lines orlongitudinal axes 73 and 83.

The invention claimed is: I

1.' Waste disposal apparatus including: a rotary table; means rotatablymounting said table on a vertical axis; cutting impellers eccentricallypivoted on said table on approximately vertical axes, said impellersbeing free to rotate entirely around their axes, a relatively stationarygrind ring surrounding said impellers and providing spaced teethdirected toward said impellers, each impeller having on its swinging enda cutting finger overlapping the positions of said teeth for rotation inclose vertical proximity to said teeth; and approximately horizontalcutting edge means provided on said teeth and said fingers andcooperating to cut stringy materials.

2. Waste disposal apparatus including: a rotary table; means rotatablymounting said table on a vertical axis; cutting impellers eccentricallypivoted on saidttable on approximately vertical axes, said impellersbeing free to rotate entirely around their axes, said impeller axesbeing located slightly less than half way inwardly from the periphery ofsaid table for clearance of said impellers upon rotationentirely'aro-und their axes, a relatively stationary grind ringsurrounding said impellers and providing spaced teeth directed towardsaid impellers, each impeller having on its swinging end a cuttingfinger overlapping the positions of said teeth for rotation in closevertical proximity to said teeth; and approximately horizontal cuttingedge means provided on said teeth and said fingers and cooperating tocut stringy materials.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,171,463 Tschauner Aug. 29, 1939 2,536,929 Hammell Ian. 2, 19512,573,213 Miller Oct. 30, 1951 2,730,308 Jordan Jan. 10, 1956 2,760,730Jordan Aug. 28, 1956 2,767,927 Green Oct. 23, 1956 2,819,847 Hanser Jan.14, 1958 2,828,083 Macemon Mar. 25, 1958 2,828,084 James et a1 Mar. 25,1958

